iTunes,You Tube and others Module 5

Once again we are off on another adventure into the world of the Web. I now know how my brother gets his 'Blues Music' from the States every Sunday night. That's right he Podcasts! I also know that it means Portable, On Demand, and that Cast means file sent over the net in the way broadcast comes as radio and tv airwaves.
Any one can do it. Even me!!! The great thing is that you are then able to transfer it to MP3 players or iPods to enjoy anywhere.
Vodcast on the other hand are a podcast that contain video content. These can also be referred to as Vidcast.
iTunes was another little discovery this week. I thought you just downloaded from this site, but it also syncs all your media with iPod, iPhone and Apple tv. All that you need to be entertained.
I have frequently used You Tube and has been a great resouce in the past. I am now going to delve further into teacher tube and see what it has to offer.
I am very happy to say that my Kinder class at this point in time are telling a digital story about the Bee Bots. Bee Bots are robotic bees and we have been using them in Maths to explore position, 2D shapes and number stories. In our technology time the children are preparing power points to tell others about the Bee Bots and what they can do.
Well that was a fun module! I hope the next one is just as exciting!

A flickr here a flickr there. Module 4

Yes another week has gone and I'm getting more attached to the internet and all it has to offer. This week sees me playing with Flickr. Because what might be ok for me but not others it is important to filter my content. At a safety level it can be safe- suitable for a global audience, moderate- if unsure whether the content is suitable for global and restricted, which speaks for itself. Content type , whether it be photos, videos etc. It is up to me to choose where my things fit. It allows others to apply filters to their searches and to see what they want to see.
Safe search allows me to control what turns up in my searches on Flickr and is always on.
Tags are keywords or labels that you add to a photo to make it easier to find later. What a great idea! I can also share photos witha group as long as I am a member of the group pool through the "Add to a group" link. Only people in the group can see photos.
Craetive Commons is an organisation that provides free licences for creators to use when making their available to the public. It helps the creator to give permission for others to use their work in advance under certain conditions of course. The creator is able to select how they want others to use their work. as a result us teachers and our students can legally freely copy, share or sometimes modifyand remix a CC without having to seek the permision of the author. It's a whole new world to explore !

igoogle all the way Module 3

What an easy way to share work that needs to be done collaboratively! Once again I love the person behind the plain english videos we have been watching. He speaks at my level and if I am lucky I can follow it too.
I am very particular about sending things over the net, so I am very happy to know that google docs sends emails with secure links directly to the document.
It is also very impressive that a few people can be working on the one document and that all additions/revisions are there for each to see. All saved on the web.
I can see the advantages for older students to work with google docs as it encourages learning to happen at all hours of the day. It enables people to work together without being in the same room. saves on travel time alone.
The fact that this enables a wider audience to see the work makes the standard higher and the lessons more interactive. I would like to try this with other teachers when we are working for eg in SRI groups.
See ya, Chris

Module 2 and away we go.

In this module I was introduced to the wonderful world of 'blogging''. I learnt that a blog website can be maintained by one or several people with regular entries of commentary. (what I'm doing now!) In other words an online diary.

I am finding the accompanying videos to the modules very goood. They are in plain english, and yes I can inderstand what is being spoken about. I need to spend more time exploring the many opportunities that this course is opening up to me. 'Blogging has given the ordinary person the power of the media.' Scarey heh!

My posts are uploaded in reverse chronological order and I can invite people to comment.
I have found the need to set aside aspecific regular time to write up my blog, and I am hoping that the more I do the easier it will be.

Bye Chris

Reflection on Module 1

I'm Chris, one of the kindergarten teachers at St Kevins Eastwood. As well as being invovled in the Web 2 course I am also invovled in an ilearning project using Bee Bots with my class. The children are very excited.

Wow! where do I begin. Info overload. There is so much to discover and learn about the web. I am now more aware of the fact that we are palcing more things on the Web for others to see and use. The "Y" generation are certainly leading the way. But us oldies like myselfvalue our privacy and don't feel the need to tell all who will read what they are up to.
The videos in Module 1 were very user friendly and explained quite well the mystery surrounding Web2.

• Web 2 - interactive/collaborative
• Social networking, but what is wrong with actually meeting up with people and speaking to them face to face?
• Duiscussion forum
• Provides many educational resources
• Concerns over privacy and reliability of sources. Definition - Web 2" A collective term for a set of powerful web based tools that provide many educational opportunities